GOP election chief retires
Dems: Brassard had tampered with petitions
BY HALEY VICCARO Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Haley Viccaro at 395-3114
Schenectady County Republican Election Commissioner Art Brassard resigned Monday and formally retired Tuesday, county Republican leader Jim Buhrmaster said.
Brassard, 62, served as the Republican election comm i s s i o n e r since 2010. The deputy Republican commissioner will step in as acting commissioner until the Schenectady County Republican Committee appoints Brassard’s permanent replacement.
Buhrmaster, who serves as the Republican committee chairman and the Legislature’s minority leader, said the committee plans to name Brassard’s successor in mid-September.
“We will be reconstituting our committee after primary day,” Buhrmaster said. “We have 20 days to reconstitute our committee. Then we will address Brassard’s replacement in September.”
TAMPERING ALLEGED
Brassard’s retirement comes about two weeks after Joe Landry, the county Democratic committee chairman, and Amy Hild, the Democratic election commissioner, accused Brassard of tampering with petitions.
Hild filed an affi davit with the Board of Elections on July 15 alleging that Brassard wrote on Buhrmaster’s petition for the Conservative Party line after it was filed and timestamped, which is against state election law. Buhrmaster said he has not heard from Brassard in a couple of weeks and that he found out about his retirement secondhand.
Brassard has not returned repeated calls for comment.
“My understanding is clearly he resigned his position [Monday] and that he is retired as of [Tuesday],” Buhrmaster said. “We have other people that are there that are helpful, that are on the Republican side, that can help the acting commissioner.”
The county Democratic and Republican committees appoint the election commissioners for four-year terms.
The Democrats appointed Hild in September after former election commissioner Brian Quail resigned.
Brassard filed for retirement on Monday, according to the state Comptroller’s Office.
He made $84,401 in 2013 as election commissioner. |
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